This page contains a short summary of our other projects (both recent, and ongoing) which are related to rural development and the themes of our research on rural futures.
Scotland's Land Reform Futures (2022-2027)
This project aims to provide new knowledge to inform Scottish Government policy development regarding land reform, community land ownership and engagement in land use decision-making, as well as increasing understanding of the role of land ownership and land reform in achieving net zero emissions and reversing biodiversity decline in Scotland.
https://land-reform-futures.hutton.ac.uk/
Integrated Socio-Environmental Modelling of Policy Scenarios for Scotland (2022-2027)
This five-year project addresses research questions on data and model integration and provenance, knowledge acquisition, trade and economic impacts on the agricultural sector, resilience and adaptation to climate change in crop systems, and the circular economy. 'Large scale' means whole of Scotland plus, with increasing resolution in terms of space, time and agents. We also take the view that 'large scale' means the computation needed for the modelling cannot be achieved in a personal computing environment.
https://large-scale-modelling.hutton.ac.uk/
Empowering Rural Communities To Act For Change (RURACTIVE) (2023–2027)
This project aims to make available existing knowledge on smart solutions to address different forms of innovation (digital and technological, technical, organizational and social, business models and financial) and to strengthen the capacities and capabilities of rural communities. It is designed to enable rural community actors and policy makers to develop better strategies, innovative initiatives and policies to promote the transition to sustainable development by improving the understanding of the different rural functions, characteristics and future scenarios of rural regions, their potentials and challenges.
Understanding the Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Island Population Change in Scotland, England, Canada and Japan (INTANGIBLE) (2024–2026)
The depopulation of subnational islands is a global phenomenon, and a range of initiatives aim at repopulation/revitalisation. Typically, these focus on increasing the number of migrants through improved jobs, housing and infrastructure. Less attention is paid to intangible aspects of shifting island populations, such as social and cultural change. Yet these socio-cultural dimensions are critical to the retention and integration of newcomers and the preservation of valuable cultural heritage. In this project we address this by employing traditional and innovative methods in case study islands in Scotland, England, Canada and Japan. Following life history interviews with residents, we employ a novel ‘Photovoice+’ method, using photos, video and audio to give voice to experiences of socio-cultural change, to be incorporated into a film. The project will culminate in island 'gatherings' at which the film will be screened and discussed, and cross-national policy guidelines co-created for addressing socio-cultural dimensions of island population change.
The Impact of COVID-19 on How People Work in Rural Communities and How to Create Resilient Rural Communities Post-Pandemic, (PhD Project - Kirsten Clarke) (2023-2027)
This mixed-methods PhD project investigates how post-pandemic remote work is shaping people’s residential and daily location choices, including where they live and how they travel to work. It also explores the effects of these changing trends on rural areas.
https://ccri.ac.uk/about-us/people/postgraduate-students/kirsten-clarke/
Giving Rural Actors Novel Data and Re-Usable Tools to Lead Public Action in Rural Areas (GRANULAR) (2022 – 2026)
This project is a four-year multi-disciplinary and transnational project, funded by the European Union and UKRI. The aims are to generate new datasets, tools and methods to better understand rural areas. It seeks to use these to gain new insights into the unique characteristics, dynamics, and drivers of change in rural areas. With a network of Living Labs around rural areas of Europe, this knowledge and our Rural Compass are used in rural proofing policies and initiatives with a view to aiding those involved in rural development to design place-based policies that are specifically tailored to the needs of each individual area.
Exploring Sustainable Futures for Scotland’s Islands, (PhD Project - Kirsten Gow) (2021 – 2025)
This research looks at the role that people with connections to Scotland’s islands could play a part in the future of the islands. This includes looking at how those with island connections can and do contribute to a sustainable and balanced repopulation of the islands via return migration.
https://islandsresearcher.wordpress.com/my-research/
Understanding the Term ‘Healthy, Balanced Population Profiles’ in the Scottish Islands Context, (PhD Project – Marcus Craigie) (2021 – 2025)
The purpose of this project is to better understand the term ‘healthy, balanced population profiles’ in the Scottish islands context and to evaluate policy measures designed to stem island depopulation and encourage island population growth during an era of multiple crises.
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/people/m.craigie.22he University of Aberdeen
https://sages.ac.uk/people/marcus-craigie/
Scottish Islands Survey 2023 (2023–2024)
This survey was designed and analysed by researchers at the James Hutton Institute, as a follow-up to the National Islands Plan Survey (2020). The survey asked about experiences of everyday island life and was sent to 20,000 residents of Scottish islands. Responses have informed the Scottish Government’s monitoring, evaluation and review of the National Islands Plan and have provided evidence for conducting Island Community Impact Assessments. Separately, the island regions used for the analysis and reporting of results in this survey, and the 2020 National Islands Plan Survey, have been developed into an official geography (‘Scottish Island Regions’) by the Scottish Government.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-islands-survey-2023-main-findings-report/
https://ruralfutures.shinyapps.io/islands-survey-2023/
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-islands-survey-2023-main-findings-report/documents/
ToWards Inclusive Growth (2020-2021)
In this project, researchers in Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences and Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland worked with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to develop a meaningful framework of inclusive growth for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and then create a detailed typology of inclusive growth at the small area level for this region.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2024.2342821
National Islands Plan Survey 2020
The Scottish Government developed Scotland's National Islands Plan (2019) following the Islands (Scotland) Act of 2018, which aimed to improve people’s lives in the Scotland's islands. The National Islands Plan Survey (2020) collected information about island residents’ experiences and perceptions of life, aligned with the strategic objectives of the National Islands Plan. In October 2020, 20,000 surveys were posted to adult residents of 76 permanently inhabited islands, and a total of 4,347 people responded to the survey from 59 islands.
European Shrinking Rural Areas Challenges, Actions and Perspectives for Territorial Governance (ESPON ESCAPE) (2019- 2020)
ESCAPE focused on European rural regions experiencing or threatened by demographic decline. The central objectives were to understand the process(es) driving shrinkage, map the heterogeneity within this group of regions, and devise intervention logic(s) for more appropriate integrated policy approaches.
Resituating the Local in Cohesion and Territorial Development (RELOCAL) (2016 – 2020)
This project focused on territorial inequalities between European cities, rural areas, and countries. It elaborated an operational concept of "spatial justice" and comparatively assessed how place-based interventions could address it in 33 case studies using theory of change and scenario planning with community stakeholders, bridging the gap between policies and local needs. The Hutton team led the work package coherence and scenarios, that compared the intervention logic across all case studies, and a case study of community land buyouts in the Isle of Lewis.